"Crimson Bonds"

Written By: SkyLark

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Gundam Wing, or its characters. I just love playing with them.

Pairings: 1x2x1, 5xOC, 3xOC, 4xR, 6x9, 13xU

Warnings for Overall Series: Angst, Violence, Sap, Lemons/Limes, AU

Summary: Sequel to Vamp fic Crimson Ties

Archives: http://www.gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com/gw/SkyLark/gwSkyLark.htm and http://www.mizunoamy.bravepages.com/skylark/skylarkfics.html

Betaed by ShenLong *hugs*

"Crimson Bonds"

[Pressure pushing down on me
Pressing down on you, no man ask for
Under pressure that burns a building down
Splits a family in two, puts people on streets

-Lyrics to 'Under Pressure' performed by Queen]

Chapter 74

The deafening roar of shouts and yells over the news of a Vampire that could bear children was lost to Nancy McAdams. As soon as her greatest opponent in the rights between the Infected and livings brought the incredible feat to light, the rest of the world went away for her.

All of the Senator's life had been highlighted by a profound disgust for the immortals that walked the Earth with God's true chosen. And finally, *she* was the one to bring forth a change so dramatic to how the two kinds existed with one another that she was being hailed as a hero by her supporters.

But that time in the sun was now overcast by clouds of uncertainty with this proposed appeal.

Nancy thought back to the last talk she had exchanged with Angela. That was the first she had heard of the natural conception and delivery of Vampire babies. So, she had been fully prepared for Treize to bring it forth to the Senate...

...but she wasn't about to make his argument an easy one.

Red in the face over the commotion from the representatives, Jackson slammed his gavel down with a shouted, "Order!" To the few that were on their feet in the aisles, he yelled, "Return to your seats and let's carry on professionally, shall we?!" Many sheepish expressions washed over the crowd as they settled themselves once again.

Taking full advantage of the hush that fell, Nancy stood tall and laughed, "Councilman Khushrenada should know that such a proclamation will require proof as well as an explanation as to why he is only now coming forth with this. I have heard of sore losers, but to fight the due process that passed the amendment in such a desperate way is a new low."

Her attempt to throw the Infected off by using insults garnered no reaction from him except for a lopsided smirk. The audience, however, was all the more riveted as some low murmurs spread throughout the atrium.

"Senator McAdams should know better than to make accusations that I would not be prepared for her retort," Treize stated. "Not only will I be able to prove the validity of a pregnant Vampire, I will be happy to explain the reasons for withholding this from the public at large until now. I am abiding by every extent of the rules in reopening a closed legislation and will continue to do so until we have a second vote for or against the amendment."

Holding back the growl she wanted to let out, Nancy could only bite her tongue hard. Like it or not, she had nothing to say in regards to her opponent following the guidelines. Anything that she wished to say would only work against her. If there was to be an appeal, she would stand against it with the same fire that she always had.

Back in his seat, Eric's brow began to bead with sweat. With no mention of a dirty vote through blackmail, he was able to breathe a little easier. However, if the tracking of Vampires was taken away, the Barton-Yuy Clan would be free to conduct their search for Septum's prisoners without a challenge from the Hunters nipping at their heels.

That had to be prevented at all costs... or at the very least stalled long enough for Millers to work out the last details of selling the Hybrids. It appeared that little ace up Dobson's sleeve was going to come in handy after all.

Treize might win the battle in having the World Senate revisit the amendment, but he would only be opening a dangerous Pandora's box into his own kind that would destroy how humans viewed them forever.

A well-timed message was going to be delivered to McAdams before this new development gained any momentum.

Rubbing his smooth chin, the Moderator eyed the Councilman and Senator in deep thought before he gripped the edges of the podium to declare, "There is enough to allow the appeal process. Given the serious nature of this matter, this has now taken precedence over this Council. Both of you will need to be prepared with your arguments in three days time before the full Senate votes to settle the registration laws."

He gestured to the Infected, adding, "Treize, I cannot help but understand Nancy's comment about your not bringing this up sooner. This will be the first and last time an appeal will be opened, so I suggest that you be ready to disclose everything we should hear in making our decision."

"Of course," Khushrenada replied with a deep bow at the waist. "Thank you for allowing the opportunity."

Jackson then looked to Nancy, warning, "And I will not stand for low blows in this council, Senator McAdams. We are all here for the best interest of everyone and every kind that we represent. You pushed the boundaries close enough with your outburst. I'll not tolerate that behavior again."

The young woman nodded firmly, "Yes, Moderator. Forgive my passionate reaction. I will mind my words."

Satisfied with that, the aging head of the World Senate took hold of his gavel and called, "I expect everyone in this room to act discretely in the lead up to the appeal. The media will have a field day with this and we do not need to fuel that fire any more than they are willing to spread it on their own. The day's session is adjourned."

Satisfied with that, the sharp smack of his hammer echoed over the auditorium that had been claimed by stunned silence.

* * * *

A warm, Hawaiian breeze blew through the window of the new safe house to create a bit of a climate shock for Angela when they had been staying in the winter-chilled land of Beijing. The lovely, beachfront home was owned and left open to the Barton-Yuy Clan by the owners- friends and Preventers, themselves, who also happened to be realtors.

Turning on the wireless router that had also been left at their disposal, Heero sighed, "We should be up and running."

Finally able to find some sort of relief at that, Wufei gave a grateful nod from where he was already bringing their laptops to life at the longest table in the space. Fingers flying over the keyboards, he accessed the new connection they needed to pick up where they had left off.

"Well this is incredibly annoying," Angela sighed as she stepped away from the corner where Yuy and Chang were setting up their research station. "I can see how it's been next to impossible for all of you to make any real progress in the mission at this rate."

Hearing the low hum of the laptop that she had hooked up, she righted herself and peered to the files that had been pushed into one large pile in the center of the spacious living room. The lack of organization was unavoidable, considering how quickly they'd had to evacuate their last 'headquarters;' but it was an inconvenience nonetheless.

"I couldn't even tell you where I left off in that mess," McAdams frowned deeply. John and Charles were already in the process of trying to find where they had left off in the stack that came up to their waists.

The eldest Chang son scratched the back of his head of red hair. "Well, I suppose we just grab from the top and hope for the best," he suggested. Trowa and Midi moved in to take up some of the folders as well.

Angela noted the armful of reports that she was able to grasp and sling against her side. Shrugging, she moved for the long, white couch that matched the light curtains drifting in the open window behind it.

"Guess this is as good a place for me to start as any," she muttered under her breath as she took a seat where she was soon flanked by her Chosen and brother.

Soon, everyone had a spot and fell right back into their own tasks. And it didn't take but a half hour in for Heero and Wufei to be setting aside file after file of promising leads. Digging deeper into through hacked background information, they cast away the report when they encountered a dead end that cleared the name of that particular person.

Biting her lip as she glanced at those growing stacks of discarded reports, McAdams shook her head. She cast aside a two folders of her own from the lot that she was going through with a frustrated grumble. Her head falling back, she rubbed her closing eyes to regain her focus.

As she straightened herself again, she stared down at the folder waiting in her lap. "Alright, Septum Millers, time to make your acquaintance now, she greeted as she opened up to the first page of the report.

* * * *

"Damn it," Lucie hissed to herself. Typing furiously, she brought up a new angle of the many that captured the escape within the base.

From the moment that Duo snapped and went on a rampage, all cameras focused on him and what he was doing, as they had been manually commanded to do by Septum. Then Solo shot right past him, only to return shortly after and take on his true entity.

It was a surprising move on the blonde Hybrid's part... to selflessly come back for the others when he had a clear way out. If she actually cared about him, Aisley would have admired his noble act.

But there was no sign of the girl in any of the captures. At no time was she with Broderick or the immortals in the thick of the action...

Gasping widely, the Hunter breathed, "Or was she?"

Mentally chastising herself for not considering to go further back in the recordings, she furiously went through page after page of saved documents in the database until she found the recordings from the holding room.

Finding the time that she wanted to begin watching from, Lucie clicked on the 'Play' button displayed on the screen. Anxiously observing the opening of the doors to Broderick, she gasped at the sight of the little girl at his side.

Words were exchanged between the prisoners and the tall Hunter before the walls to the cells were taken down. Then Solo descended upon the child as he took hold of her wrist. Jaw dropping, Aisley gasped when her target vanished before her eyes.

Then, it appeared as though the blonde half-breed was miming the act of putting someone on his back seconds prior to his darting off with the rest of the group.

"Son of a bitch!" Lucie shrieked as she bolted to her feet. Jumping at her sudden cry, Doctor Bert and Septum spun towards her with wide eyes. Fists at her sides, the beautiful young woman snapped at them, "That little brat's a Companion and she snuck out right under our noses!"

An icy chill shot down the beautiful Hunter's spine. That was why Solo surged past the others when 'Shinigami' emerged. He was taking the girl to the elevator... the very elevator that opened up on the surface with no one inside according to the guards that were waiting for the fugitives.

His mouth opening to ask a series of questions, Millers was cut off by his distracted lover's groaned, "Oh... no." She was off in the next blink, running out of the observation tower.

Terrified by her behavior, the researcher urged Berg to continue his report as he hurried to the station where she had been working and rewound the feed that she had been watching. It only took a minute for Septum's blood to run cold as his growing eyes took in the shocking image of the orphan disappearing from the feed.

A Companion. He had brought a Companion into his lair. And now she was out in the world.

The shrill sound of a cell phone ringing pierced the thick air. Without bothering to check the caller ID, he opened the receiver and pressed it to his ear as he continued to stare in disbelief at the rolling footage on the monitor.

"Septum," came the electronically garbled voice of Senator Dobson. "We may have a real problem here."

~ ~ ~ ~

Minutes later, topside, Lucie was adjusting the strap of her gun holster wrapped around her waist as she stormed into the launching pad. The motion-censored lights flickering on in her wake, she frantically searched for something... anything that might tip her off to where the girl was.

Somehow, Emma would needed provisions to see her through until she found help. And the hub was the only place she could have gone to take such supplies.

On her way past her parked jeep in the middle of her search, Aisley stopped herself short when she noted something was off in the form of a mark on the ledge of the back hatch. The vehicle was covered with dirt from the drive through the Outback, but a closer inspection revealed that one area was not nearly as dingy...

...and it was in the perfect shape of a hand print.

Eyes growing, the Hunter looked inside and counted the number of emergency packs stored in the hatch. When she came up short by one, her head fell back with a wild yell at the realization that she had taken her target many miles away from the base.

Racing into the driver's seat and slamming the keys into the ignition, Lucie peeled out of the pad with her tires screeching against the metal floor. Foot on the accelerator, she drove as fast as her jeep would allow in the direction that she had taken to comb the Outback.

The sun was high in the sky that late morning, giving off the perfect angle of light that helped her pick out the tracks she had left behind. Finally coming to the end of her trail, she left the vehicle to idle as she jumped out to inspect the area.

Squatting down, the living scanned the ground until she discovered what she was looking for. The corner of her mouth curling up at the subtle traces of footprints in the orange dirt that continued on past the grooves of her jeep, she raised her head to follow the path that they had taken... and noticed the distant cliffs of the Rainbow Valley.

Heart hammering in her chest, Aisley knew that time was even more against her than she had feared. If that brat had made it to the valley, it would only be a matter of time before she happened across civilians touring through.

Growling, she threw herself back into the driver seat and slammed the door behind herself. Shifting the gears of her ride, she raced for the rises on the horizon.

* * * *

Angela blinked widely in confusion. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary in the report that she was studying... until she came across the mention of Turner and Greyson- a well-known firm in the world of attorneys that specialized in finance law.

Septum had filed a case with their aid to win a sum of money that came with a lot of zeroes. The suit involved the inheritance from the countless stocks that Professor H had collected, and continued to accumulate, more than enough to provide for his heirs for generations after generations.

What was strange about the case was that this particular Millers was not in the direct bloodline to Hemingway. He was not a seventh generation grandson. He was a seventh generation nephew who, through the court of law, won the primary rights to the lump sum of his Uncle's wealth.

But what had McAdams' hair standing on end was that there was nothing in the background check that said what Septum did with those millions of dollars that he had fought so hard for.

Peeling back several pages that she had scanned through, the Companion speed read her person of interest's education history. At that final piece of information, her blue eyes widened with a gasp and she was on her feet, knocking the files still in her lap to the ground.

The family sitting around watched in interest as she walked briskly over to where Wufei and Heero were working, facing each other at opposite sides of the table they shared.

"Dad," Angela urged the scaly Vampire as she approached from behind. He continued typing with a hummed affirmative that he was listening. Biting her lip, she informed, "I think I might have something."

Their fingers freezing over their keyboards, Yuy and Chang raised their heads to her. Handing over her file to her father-in-law, the law student explained, "There's a lot of flags with this guy... more than anyone else I've seen so far." Leaning over, she tapped the spots in the report that were the standout details.

Gold-and-onyx eyes growing with every piece of information she pointed out, the Chinese Infected muttered, "Septum Millers."

Spinning himself towards his laptop, he set the papers aside and typed into the secured databases that he had been utilizing. After a few credit checks, he thought aloud, "He made pretty damn sure to not leave any sort of money trail not long after he won his lawsuit... top of his class in genetic science centering around Vampires..."

Quickly accessing his college records, Wufei found the saved notes and comments made by professors and intern associates. Then he clicked on the history of checked out references from the campus library. "He liked accessing the old microfiche computers for archived news clippings. All I have are a few codes to the articles that he frequented the most."

"Library," Heero repeated to himself. Raising his head, he commented, "Library fiche computers tap into the same saved drives of the government. I can get into that database with my old key password that never changed since I last worked as a librarian." As he spoke, he was already in the process of getting in to the storage pages that he had not seen in years.

Feverishly writing down three different codes of five digits, Chang rounded the table and passed them to his brother. "This guy went back to these three articles over and over throughout his college career," he informed.

Nodding, Yuy clicked on the find option and entered the information to bring up three old paper clippings that he enlarged for the both of them to see clearly.

The first was of a report of an odd light billowing up from the Antarctic surface dating back to the estimated time when the Professor H was destroyed in a ball of fire. Next was a small article on a the scientific possibility of genetically combining human and Vampire DNA.

And the third, the most visited of the archives, was the front-page story of the Vampire Council trial centered around Wufei Chang and Anna Yuy.

Straightening rigidly, the stricken brothers turned to one another. The first to recover from the startling discovery, Heero's eyes narrowed on the image of the dark-haired man's mug shot inside of his personal file. "That's our Mister M," he growled deeply.

* * * *

Patience was a mandatory virtue when it came to the art of hunting. And there were few better at the game than Lucie Aisley.

It didn't take long for her to find the cave that had obviously been the brat's shelter the night before. She left behind crushed embers from a small fire pit and crumbs from the food rations in the pack she'd swiped.

And with no sign of life for more miles than the girl could walk, she'd have to return for another evening.

The trap was set. Aisley had an ideal crevice inside of the cave to hide behind for a vantage point to the mouth of the opening. All that she had to do was sit and wait.

She could wait all night if she had to. But she knew that wouldn't be the case.

Little girls tended to be scared of the dark.

* * * *

Nancy let out a long breath as she set foot inside of her office in the Capitol following her early dinner in the cafeteria.

Peering outside of her window, she could see that there was still a large wave of reporters waiting in the streets for a word from any World Council representative that they might pry an interview. "Good news travels fast," she snorted bitterly.

Naturally, word would have spread surrounding the announcement of a Vampire that could conceive naturally. Between that and the approved appeal to the Vampire registration laws, the vultures of the media were circling for any morsel that they could devour.

Determined to avoid them at all costs, the Senator decided to wait out the evening as long as she had to until the scavengers finally gave up and moved on. In the meantime, she had plenty of work to keep her busy in preparation for countering Treize's appeal before their peers once again.

Behind her, a thin envelope with the block-lettered message 'Senator McAdams' written across it appeared from beneath her closed door. With one good shove, it slid across the floor. Out in the hallway, heavy footsteps that were carefully kept as quiet as possible made a hasty escape.

TBC

Chapter 75

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